That's how Mark Assini is viewing his past as he nears the end of his public service career. The one-time rising star who almost upset stalwart Rep. Louise Slaughter in the 25th Congressional District race in 2014 — losing by 868 votes — will take the next few months to consider his future.

He is up for re-election as Gates town supervisor in 2019 but says he is unlikely to pursue that seat again, and is thinking about life in the private sector after a long career with 13 years as a county legislator and nine years as town supervisor.

"I'm giving myself two months to think about things," said Assini, 58. "I'm definitely close to the end of my public service career."

While he's mulling things over, Assini is being honored by the Gates Amita Club at its 56th Annual Spring Party, on Friday, May 11, at Diplomat Banquet Center in Gates. The Italian American club honors one outstanding Italian-American each year for his or her service to the community.

The club of over 200 people will celebrate with food and music by Franco Gallelli. The event is open to the public.

Founded in 1962, the Gates Amita Club is an organization that connects Italians, said President Quintino DiCesare. Amita means friendship in Italian and is a combination of America and Italia.

The Gates Amita Club selected Assini as the honoree for his service to the organization, DiCesare said. Assini's father, Vincent, also was a member of the club, DiCesare noted.

His father is where Mark Assini draws his life's inspiration. An immigrant from San Marco dei Cavoti in Benevento province in Italy, Vincent Assini was one of the few lawyers in the community in the 1950s who spoke Italian. People who had little money needed his help and he would always assist the community, no questions asked, Mark Assini recalled.

Inheritance funded first congressional race

"He had many opportunities to be a wealthy man but that wasn't important to him," Assini said, adding that his father was more concerned with helping people.

And it is with the inheritance that his father and mother left him that he was able to launch a bid for Congress back in 2004 in the old 29th district. He lost the primary to Randy Kuhl and lost his entire $150,000 inheritance.

"No regrets," Assini asserted.

His second opportunity came a decade later in 2014 in the race against Slaughter. No one wanted the nomination after Slaughter handily defeated former Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks two years earlier and no one took him seriously. It was a grass-roots campaign that gained traction, Assini said.

It took eight days for Assini to concede. On his mind was the Independence Party endorsement that he earned earlier that year. He could not get on the ballot as a candidate because he did not have enough volunteers to get the required number of signatures.

"We came up short," Assini said. "If we had that line, we would have won."

Slaughter soundly defeated Assini in the rematch in 2016 with 56.2 percent of the votes.

Assini said running for Congress again is also not in the cards.

A former finance and accounting manager at Eastman Kodak Co. and American Rock Salt, Assini said private practice opportunities exist in those fields.

As he reflects on his career in public service, Assini said it's helping people that matters the most. Little things such as taking a day off to help a Gates resident cut downed trees and helping another resident rescue her cat.